Hills Like White Elephants, short story by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1927 in the periodical transition and later that year in the collection Men Without Women. The themes of this sparsely written vignette about an American couple waiting for a train in
Spain are almost entirely implicit. The story is largely devoid of plot and is notable for its use of irony, symbolism, and repetition. (Encyclopedia Britannica). The Short Story brings the read into a discussion, between a man and a girl. They go back and forth about trying to make a decision in their relationship. Some say Hemingway gives the reader very little in insight, and leaves the reader somewhat baffled. Hemingway gives us a glimps into a conversation that might be the hardest thing the couple has ever faced in their relationship. They are discussing weather or not the girl should have a procedure, and abortion.
The setting of the short story takes place in the 1920’s in Spain, at a Train station.
The American, the male in the story expresses how hot it is outside. The American and the girl sit and drink beers outside, where there is no shade. The couple sits and drinks it seems they are drinking to pass time but to also not bring up the issues at hand the procedure. “they look like white elephants” says the girl. I believe this is a metaphor. The man says “I’ve never seen one” and brushes the girls comment aside. The man and the girls seems to be having a bit of a disagreement. “you started it “ the girl says .
Hemingway’s Americans’ continual desire for more alienates them from the rest of society, proving their lack of understanding for the world. In “Cat in the Rain,” an American couple is vacationing in Italy. Instead of admiring the beauty of their surroundings, the Americans instead focus on irrelevant trivial pursuits, illustrating their greed. After going down to retrieve the cat, the wife is immediately attracted to the hotel owner, proving Americans ever-evolving want for new things: “She liked the way he wanted to serve her. [...] She liked his old, heavy face and big hands” (Hemingway 130). Instead of staying loyal to her husband, the American wife forgets he exists and moves on to the next best person she finds, showing the apathy Americans possess for what they already have. Additionally, the hotel owner is simply doing his job, and the American wife’s failure to realize this results from her greed, which severely clouds her judgement. The greed Americans possess is further proven with the American wife’s childish behavior throughout the story. When the wife cannot find the cat, she complains, “I wanted it so much [...] I don’t know why I wanted it so much” (130). Back in the hotel room, the wife demands to her husband that she “want[s] to pull [her] hair back,” and to “have a kitty to sit on [her] lap and purr when [she] stroke[s] her” (131). The
The majority of teenagers in America think that drinking is not worth the consequences it causes. Girls are much more
The American is a selfish individualist that wants to do things his way and only lives to please himself. The
The story takes place at a train station, where the girl and the American sit down on a table
Throughout history, power dynamics between men and women has persisted in literature, and it makes for good entertainment.
Ernest Hemingway was a groundbreaking author during the 20th century and he left behind many famous pieces of work. He used his own life experiences to contribute ideas and inspiration for his stories whether they involve his military career or his family life (“Ernest Hemingway). Hemingway also uses language in such ways that can convey feelings and ideas throughout his pieces. His use of language and dialogue in some of his short stories really paint a picture for the reader on the situations presented (Link). In the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses Jig’s ambivalence towards the whole situation with herself and the American to convey the idea that Jig holds all the power in the decision although the American, who is powerless, believes he has a say in the matter.
In the beginning of the story he tries to explain what he means about “guys”. He doesn’t have a word or a sentence
From the beginning of Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, Jig has been a character of mystery, even until the very end of the short story. During the American’s and Jig’s whole conversation, it seemed as though everything was uneasy; and that’s because it was. The whole text was a conversation about the American wanting Jig to abort her baby during a time when abortion was still fairly new.
At the end of their conversation, both are drinking alone, the girl at the table and the man at the bar which can imply that their relationship my end by them going their separate ways.
In literature, authors use a certain image or collection of images in order to produce a particular effect, eliciting a response from the reader’s senses. Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” utilizes the imagery of the train station in order to produce the effect of transition between the characters, both in terms of physical location and emotional mindset. Much like Hemingway, James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” takes a similar approach, using Sonny’s passion for music to expose his deepest insecurities. Though their approaches are different, both authors use imagery to create a pathway to the character’s internal thoughts.
While young people in foreign countries learn to regard moderate drinking as an enjoyable social activity, young Americans view it as something they have to sneak around to do. If 18 year olds do not have legal access to even a beer in a public place, they are ill equipped to deal with the responsibilities that come with drinking when they do have the right.
The pair is sitting outside at a table facing the dry hills. The girl looks out at the bleak, arid landscape and comments to her paramour that "[the hills] look like white elephants"(143). He brushes off this remark as a flight of fancy; after all, the hills bear no physical resemblance to white elephants. The girl is looking at these hills as being emblematic of their current lifestyle, and is trying to find some good in it, perhaps to convince herself to heed her partners wishes and go through with the abortion. She is trying to find magic in something very grim, but this self-pacifying tactic fails. His callous response to her attempt at finding beauty only furthers the emotional and ideological
“Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood share a gender-oriented theme. They both show women struggling to attain equality against their male partners. This theme is depicted through the use of symbolism, point of view and plot conflict.
face of it. No doubt many tramps would drink if they got the chance, but in the
As mentioned in the story and the title, the significance of the symbolism and the term white elephant refers to the baby since it is a gift which is expensive and difficult to maintain. In this instance the